Car washing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Car washing apparatus comprising an arch mounted for movement longitudinally of the car, and generally vertical brushes movable transversely across the arch from each side and supported from rails which are inclined downwardly toward the center of the arch. A brush which rotates about a horizontal axis is supported for vertical movement by the side posts of the arch.

United States Patent Dini 5] May 16, 1972 [54] CAR WASHING APPARATUS [72] Inventor: Franco Dini, via Don G. Franchini, For- [56] References cued migine, Modena, Italy UNITED STATES PATENTS [22] Filed: Oct. 20, 1969 3,233,264 2/1966 Nick] et al. ..l5/21 E [2]] Appl' 867645 Primary Examiner-Edward L. Roberts Attorney-Holcombe, Wetherill & Brisebois [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Mar. 7, 1969 Italy ..33534 A/69 Mar. 7 1969 Italy n 33 5 3 5 [W59 Car washing apparatus comprising an arch mounted for move- 7 1969 Italy 33536 A/69 ment longitudinally of the car, and generally vertical brushes Jul 1 l969 ha] M33598 A/69 movable transversely across the arch from each side and supy y ported from rails which are inclined downwardly toward the center of the arch. A brush which rotates about a horizontal 3|. ..15/2l E, axis is supported for vertical movement by the side posts ofthe u u u t t t t t l I u [58] Field ofSearch l5/DIG. 2, 2| D, 21 E, 53,

1 1 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATEHTEDMM 16 I972 SHEET 1 OF 3 FIGS PATENTEDMAY 16 1972 SHEET 2 OF 3 FIG? FIG.6

FIG.B

III FT FIGS CAR WASHING APPARATUS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a simplified installation for automatically washing automobiles, busses and trucks, which installation has particular advantages of a technical and functional type over other installations for this purpose which are now in general use.

The installation comprises an arch made of box-section girders mounted on rollers which travel on a rail and which is adapted to be positioned above the automobile to be washed so that it can move in two opposite directions. Inside the two side-posts of the arch are the devices required to control the spraying of the washing liquid and the devices which control the vertical movement of a brush which is mounted horizontally between the two side posts and adapted to rotate about its own axis.

The installation also comprises two vertical brushes which are also rotatably mounted and adapted to clean by contact the front, side and rear surfaces of the vehicle, said brushes being suspended from two carriages which slide in the upper part of the installation along a pair of rails, each of which is inclined toward the center of the installation and attached to a central support.

Each carriage is equipped with its own electric motor, and because they are mounted as described the vertical brushes are urged toward the center of the arch, and consequently against the vehicle by their weight and the inclination of the rails toward the center.

Moreover, the working parts of the two vertical brushes are superposed in the central zone so as to clean the median strip which conventional installations frequently neglect so that the job must be finished by hand.

The installation according to the invention has the following fundamental advantages:

1. Elimination of the above-mentioned unwashed median Strip.

2. Elimination of many moving parts such as springs, cables,

and counter-weights.

3. Reduction in the length of the installation.

The horizontal rails on which the carriages for the vertical brushes travel may be made in various ways so that they incline at various angles along the path of travel of the brushes and are oriented in different directions with respect to the path of travel of the arch.

The brushes may be supported from either the front or the back of those rails, or from both sides of a single rail, without altering the principle that the zones covered by these brushes must overlap at the center to improve the cleaning of the central portion of the fronts and backs of vehicles being washed.

Then, when the inclination of the rail is varied in dependence on the width of the arch, or a similar result is achieved by using two rails, the disadvantages inherent in the use of rails having a constant slope are eliminated.

The principal disadvantages are the need for a slight push at the center of the brush and consequently a slight resistance to the separation of the brushes when they must be moved away from the center of the arch, and the need to have a larger pressure against the sides of the vehicle when the separated brushes are cleaning said sides.

Special brakes may be mounted inside these rails or parallel thereto in order to prevent the derailment of the brushes as a consequence of their inertia when they reach either end of their paths of travel.

The section of the rails on which the carriers travel may vary, as may the system of connecting the members of a pair of rails, and the structure of the brakes and other accessories. Two levers may be connected to the tops of the carriages and attached inside the top of the arch to the pistons of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders to facilitate the separation or bringing together of the carriages.

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, purely by way of illustration and example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the washing arch according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows this embodiment in plan;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the arch;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are front and plan views of another embodiment of the arch according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are front and plan views of another embodiment of the installation according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken through the rail which supports the carriages in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front and plan views of yet another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view through the rails which support the carriages in the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11.

All the figures show the arch 1 made of metallic box members, with the inner sides of the side posts 2 embracing rails 3 for the horizontal brush 4 and devices for controlling the supply of washing liquids.

The rollers 5 travel on the rails 6 and carry the side posts 2, as well as two supports 7 which, with the assistance of a central support 8, support the two rails 9 and 10 which are inclined toward the center and on which the carriages 11 for the motors 12 are carried. The vertical brushes 13 are suspended from these carriages. It should be noted that these rails overlap at the center.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the rails 14, on which the carriages l5 ride, are attached at their outer ends to the posts 2 by means of pins 16, and to each other by means of pins 17 passing through slots 18 in the inner ends of the rails themselves (see FIG. 5), or in triangular plates 19 (see FIG. 6).

The slots and the plates make it possible for the rails to occupy either of the two positions A and B.

These positions are the result of the motion of a hydraulic piston 20 which is positioned laterally with respect to one of the rails and insures that the arch is always advanced along the rail 6 with the concave side of the angle defined by the rails 14 turned toward the automobile. In this embodiment the components not specifically identified are stationary members also found in conventional installations. The preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 differs from the foregoing in that the vertical brushes are suspended from carriages which ride on a single rail 21 positioned in front of the arch 1, and slanting in different directions as shown. Referring to FIG. 9, this rail comprises a hollow beam 21 which is rectangular in section, and which supports four angle irons 23, each pair of which define a surface on which the principal rollers 24 and secondary rollers 26 of a given carriage ride. Each carriage supports a motor 27 and a brush 28. At the outer ends of the rail 21 are the two brakes 29, each consisting of a flat metal plate supported by two springs 30 at its outer end, which cushions the impact of one of the carriages 26 when this carriage reaches the outer ends of the arch. The symmetrical construction of the single rail 21 in this preferred embodiment makes it possible to mount the two brush-carrying carriages 26 on the opposite sides of the same rail so as to facilitate reciprocal movement of the brushes to cover the central part of the vehicle to be washed.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 relates to a car washing arch in accordance with the functional and constructional principles already set forth, except with respect to the particular position of the rails which support the travelling carriers which in turn support the vertical brushes.

These rails are symmetrical with respect to each other, but independent, and overlap each other at the center of the carwashing arch.

This makes it possible to mount the carriages 33 for the brushes on opposite sides of the rails themselves. In this embodiment the two rods 34 which project from the top of the arch slidably engage between pins 33A projecting upwardly from the carriages 33. The ends of these rods inside the top of the arch are engaged by a special hydraulic cylinder 34A which pivots the rods about the pivots 34B and thereby facilitates the movement of the carriages at certain points in their path of travel.

The effect of the rods on the movements of the carriages 33 is limited to the separation of these carriages after washing to permit the vehicle to leave, and to giving these carriages a little push toward the outside when each carriage is half way out in order to facilitate the separation of the carriages when the brushes attached thereto are washing the rounded lateral edges of the vehicle.

With particular reference to FIG. 12, it will be noted that the two rails 31 and 32 comprise a flat plate 35 to which two T-section beams 36 are welded. The opposed edges of these T- section beams form the surface on which the principal rollers 38 of the carriages 33 travel.

The rails are connected by a central plate 39 and carry internal brakes 40 formed by a longitudinal bar having a concave upper surface supported by springs 41 which engage a roller 42 on the carriage 33.

This brake-bar 40 may also be seen in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 also shows stops 43 welded onto each rail 31 or 32 to limit the movement of the carriage along the other rail.

The installation described in the foregoing examples may be adapted to wash vehicles of ordinary dimensions or trailers or trucks which are larger in size without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Car washing apparatus comprising an archway mounted for movement perpendicularly to the principal plane of the arch, a rotatable cylindrical brush mounted for vertical movement within the opening defined by the arch, rail means extending across the top of the arch, at least two generally vertical cylindrical brushes, and a carriage for each brush mounted to travel on said rail means, said rail means being inclined downwardly from the sides of said arch toward the center thereof, and said brushes being mounted to rotate about axes which are spaced from each other in a direction perpendicular to the principal plane of the arch.

2. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which each carriage is equipped with an electrical motor connected to rotate the brush carried by that carriage.

3. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said rail means comprises two rails which overlap each other at their inner ends, each pivotally and slidably attached at one end to the other rail and pivotally attached at the other end to one side of said archway, and power means for swinging said rails about the ends attached to said archway sides.

4. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the weight of said vertical brushes and the inclination of said rails suffices to bring said vertical brushes to the inner ends of their paths of travel on the rails.

5. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said electrical motors drive said vertical brushes in opposite directions.

6. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising means near the center of said rail means for reversing the direction in which said electric motors drive said vertical brushes.

7. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising means at the outer ends of said rail means for cushioning the impact of said carriages as they approach said outer ends.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the slope of said rail means is steeper near its outer end than at the center.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said rail means comprises vertically spaced upper and lower surfaces, and said carriages are mounted on rollers which travel between said upper and lower surfaces.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which each carriage is provided with a pair of auxiliary wheels and said rail is provided with vertical surfaces which engage said auxiliary wheels.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a switch positioned to be actuated by a carriage as it approaches the center of said archway, fluid pressure exerting means actuated by said switch, and an arm actuated by said fluid pressure means to return said carriage and the brush to the outside of said archway upon actuation of said switch. 

1. Car washing apparatus comprising an archway mounted for movement perpendicularly to the principal plane of the arch, a rotatable cylindrical brush mounted for vertical movement within the opening defined by the arch, rail means extending across the top of the arch, at least two generally vertical cylindrical brushes, and a carriage for each brush mounted to travel on said rail means, said rail means being inclined downwardly from the sides of said arch toward the center thereof, and said brushes being mounted to rotate about axes which are spaced from each other in a direction perpendicular to the principal plane of the arch.
 2. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which each carriage is equipped with an electrical motor connected to rotate the brush carried by that carriage.
 3. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said rail means comprises two rails which overlap each other at their inner ends, each pivotally and slidably attached at one end to the other rail and pivotally attached at the other end to one side of said archway, and power means for swinging said rails about the ends attached to said archway sides.
 4. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the weight of said vertical brushes and the inclination of said rails suffices to bring said vertical brushes to the inner ends of their paths of travel on the rails.
 5. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said electrical motors drive said vertical brushes in opposite directions.
 6. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising means near the center of said rail means for reversing the direction in which said electric motors drive said vertical brushes.
 7. Car washing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising means at the outer ends of said rail means for cushioning the impact of said carriages as they approach said outer ends.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the slope of said rail means is steeper near its outer end than at the center.
 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said rail means comprises vertically spaced upper and lower surfaces, and said carriages are mounted on rollers which travel between said upper and lower surfaces.
 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which each carriage is provided with a pair of auxiliary wheels and said rail is provided with vertical surfaces which engage said auxiliary wheels.
 11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a switch positioned to be actuated by a carriage as it approaches the center of said archway, fluid pressure exerting means actuated by said switch, and an arm actuated by said fluid pressure means to return said carriage and the brush to the outside of said archway upon actuation of said switch. 